Another 27th King
by xXDream
Summary: Certainly, this wasn't the "welcome back" Yuuri had expected… As the tip of the spear drew dangerously close to his neck, the shrine maiden ordered: "Bring this impostor before the real Maou!" …wait, WHAT!


__I found this story while cleaning up my home computer - apparently, I typed it up almost a year ago and forgot all about it... I still have a few ideas for this, but I've been too concentrated on real life to proceed with my stories. Apologies to the readers...__

_Please enjoy this chapter and leave some comments or criticsm. I love criticism, it helps me improve~_

_I DO NOT OWN Kyou Kara Maou. Takabayashi Tomo does. _

_Chapter 1_

**The new Maou is… ?**

It has been a painful week – in more ways than one – but Yuuri was finally done with his exams. Now he had a whole week off school ahead of him! Yuuri could not contain his excitement over that fact. Finally, he would get some study-free time not only on Earth, but in Shin Makoku as well, because he had managed to persuade Gunter before leaving.

Convincing his tutor was not exactly as hard as he had imagined at first – well, as long as Yuuri provided some valid reasoning. He went the extra mile and found some research statistics on the internet about the importance of days off and their impact on the overall productivity of students. Needless to say, Gunter was delighted that his precious King finally showed interest in books and research... Let's put aside the fact that Gunter couldn't actually read it. And let's even overlook the fact that this "research" was obviously done for evasive reasons. The important thing here is that Gunter agreed to cease lectures for a week, and Yuuri was more than happy about that.

But then, there was also Gwendal… He claimed that Yuuri was just making up more excuses to avoid his already neglected work. Of course, Yuuri denied it wholeheartedly (even though it _was_ the truth), but Gwendal didn't budge. Yuuri could only hope that Gunter had managed to persuade Gwendal while he was back in Japan – even though he knew that was more than unlikely.

Anyways, he was sure he would figure out a way to escape from Gwendal. If nothing helped, he had his secret weapon that was bound to work. He tested it on Wolfram once. It worked better than he expected. The very thought made Yuuri grin, which earned him a few weird looks from the passers by. He couldn't care less – he was happy. And he was going back to Shin Makoku as soon as he got back home.

The thought of Murata flashed in his mind. His friend still had one exam left and would be taking it tomorrow. This meant that Yuuri would be going to Shin Makoku alone and Murata would be following him later with the help of Shinou – they already agreed on that. Murata was not too happy about Yuuri going alone at first, but eventually he relented and agreed. The Great Sage simply could not make Yuuri wait a day longer – his enthusiasm would suffocate him.

With that thought Yuuri reached his house and entered, quickly discarding his shoes.

"I'm home!" He yelled from the corridor before grabbing his backpack and running up the stairs.

"Welcome home, Yuu-chan!" His mother yelled back from the kitchen.

"Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?" She asked as she followed him upstairs.

"No mom, thanks." Yuuri replied with a grin as he put down his bag and started rummaging through his closet for some more casual clothes. He didn't want to go to his kingdom in his school uniform – he only had two of those left and the last time he did travel wearing it, it got torn. Better not risk having to walk to school naked. He found a pair of dark beige jeans with a chain, a black long-sleeved shirt and a short-sleeved blue button up shirt on top. He deemed the outfit good enough and grabbed the clothes before heading towards the bathroom.

"It's Mama, Yuu-chan!" His pouting mother greeted him in the corridor.

"Are you sure you're not hungry? I can make some toast for you. Or you can wait for curry, it should be done in about an hour. Shori should be back by then as well." She explained with a smile and Yuuri shook his head.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll take a quick shower now and then go to Shin Makoku. I'll eat there, so you don't have to worry." He offered her a bright smile and Miko ruffled his hair.

"Alright then, I suppose everyone there is missing their King." She said and winked at him. Then her expression changed as her eyes sparkled with realization.

"Oh, I have some gifts ready for Wolf-chan, and Conrad-san, and Gwendal-san! Wait just a moment, I'll go get them!" She sang and hurried down the corridor to the parent's bedroom.

Yuuri gulped audibly and scurried to the bathroom, making sure to lock the door behind him. It was his first time traveling alone (well, at least without Murata close by) and he surely didn't need any extra luggage. He quickly washed and semi-dried himself off, then he dressed up and jumped back into the already halfway filled up tub. As he heard his mothers' steps approaching, he quickly dived underwater and wished for the portal between the worlds to open. It did, and a split second later Yuuri was already going down with a whirlpool.

He surfaced with a loud gasp – the trip sort of felt longer than it usually was, but that must have been because he had to find the way himself. Yuuri looked around – surely enough he was sitting in the fountain in Shinou's temple. As he removed a large leaf of a water lily from his head, he looked at the water. _Were there always this many plants?_ He discarded the thought and smiled to himself in both relief and poorly hidden feeling of accomplishment – he had made it alone. Yuuri looked around in hopes of seeing Conrad or Wolfram, but all he could see were a few shrine maidens who looked at him in surprise. He figured this must have been because he came without the Sage.

"Ah, good day!" He greeted with a sheepish smile and stood up. He expected his retainers to be there, but oh well, perhaps they were busy. He knew the way to the castle very well anyways. Yuuri attempted to take a step towards the edge of the fountain but was quickly stopped by an unwelcoming sharp object pointed at his neck. He fell back into the water in shock and looked at the frowning violet-haired shrine maiden in front of him, his eyes wide. The tip of her spear was once again pointed at his now-sitting form and a few more shrine maidens approached – all with their weapons drawn and ready to attack if necessary. However, none of them actually threatened him and instead looked completely perplexed. Yuuri gaped like a fish and struggled to find any words.

"W-w-what?.." He finally voiced out, trying to back away only to have the spear come even closer to his neck.

"Who are you? How did you get here?" The violet-haired maiden demanded and Yuuri blinked owlishly. What?

"M-me? You don't know me?" Yuuri asked in shock. The maiden gave him a glare.

"Why should we know you? You do seem to be a double-black, a demon of noble origin, but that doesn't change the fact that you've committed a great sin! No man is allowed to enter this shrine! Now, identify yourself!" She demanded and Yuuri felt completely puzzled. What the hell was happening here?

"I'm Shibuya Yuuri, the 27th Maou of Shin Makoku." He replied with a hopeful look. There were a few gasps and the spear at his neck wavered for a second before coming even closer to his neck and scratching the skin there. Yuuri gasped when he felt the pointy object drawing some blood. His body froze up. The look on the maiden's face spelled rage.

"Bring this impostor before the real Maou! Send pigeon mail to the castle and ask them to send someone to retrieve him!" She ordered and Yuuri felt cold sweat running down his spine.

_Wait, what? The __real__ Maou? What the hell is going on in here?_

Yuuri felt a sharp object touch his back.

"Get up." Came the command from behind him and shakily the young double-black obeyed. He got out of the fountain and was led by three maidens and their spears towards one of the empty rooms, where he was given a towel and then locked up.

Yuuri was in a shocked state – his mind couldn't wrap up around the situation. What the hell happened here?

_I'm sure this is the Shin Makoku I know… The building, the people and everything else is the same… But then, why did none of the girls recognize me? I had come here plenty of times and every time they recognized me as the Maou. But right now it seemed as though they had seen me for the first time. As though I had never existed till this very moment…_

Yuuri shook his head. That was not possible.

_Still, how could everybody forget? This was not possible, unless… Someone made them forget. Judging by their reactions to me being a double-black, Murata was forgotten as well… Who could have done such a thing? Erasing everyone's memories of us… Whoever it was, I have to find out! I only hope that at least someone from the castle still remembers me... Whoever did this, couldn't have possibly erased the memories of every single person I've ever met here! Or... Could they?_

He didn't know how long has it been since he was locked in the empty room. He had dried his hair and his clothes were already half dry. Yuuri sighed. He hoped that someone would come soon. He was cold, hungry and the stone floor on which he was sitting was rather uncomfortable. Besides, he really wanted to talk to someone and find out more about this situation. This obscurity was making him really anxious.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, the lock on the door clanged and the doors opened. Yuuri quickly stood up but did not approach it – he didn't want it to be mistaken for a hostile action. The door opened fully and behind it stood a familiar person along with two shrine maidens. Yuuri couldn't help the happy smile that appeared on his face. The person was a little different – he had longer hair and wore a slightly different uniform, but it was still him.

"Conrad! I'm so glad…" Yuuri exclaimed, relief washing over him. However, he was too quick to rejoice. At the mention of that name, the person obviously stiffened. Conrart frowned at him and turned to the shrine maidens, telling them to leave them alone for a moment. Yuuri's smile disappeared and he gave the person a questioning look. The maidens nodded and closed the door behind the older male.

"Conrad? What is happening here? Nobody seems to remember me…" Yuuri inquired looking at his godfather expectantly. Conrart's face held an expressionless stare, which made Yuuri feel uncomfortable. He wasn't the Conrart he knew. Did he forget about him as well?

"Um, do you remember me?" Yuuri tried after receiving no answer. His heart fluttered at the thought that this might be the case.

"You're the 27th Maou of Shin Makoku, Shibuya Yuuri." Conrart replied emotionlessly. Yuuri let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank Heavens…" Yuuri smiled sweetly at his godfather, which earned him a look of confusion, before Conrart's face returned to its expressionless state.

"Well, that's what you claimed to be when you appeared here." He continued and Yuuri's eyes widened. Did that mean that Conrart didn't remember him as well? His following words felt like knife stabs to his heart.

"If you do not wish to reveal your real identity, that's fine. What I want to know is how you came to know my name? Even though you do butcher it." A small frown appeared on his handsome face and the usually kind light brown eyes shone with suspicion. Yuuri felt tears welling up at the corners of his eyes. But he did not allow them to fall – he had to cope with the situation at hand.

"Yuuri Shibuya _is_ my real name. I know your name, because you, sir Conrad Weller, are my Godfather… Even if you do not remember being it." Yuuri replied while looking at the ground. Conrart was shocked. What was this kid saying? However, his expressionless mask did not fall. He chose to change the topic.

"How did you get here? For what reason?" The older male asked. Yuuri did not look into his eyes as he answered – he felt like he was betrayed by his own mind, like he was having a nightmare that lasted way too long. He could only hope that Conrart would believe him.

"I got here through a portal between worlds and landed in the fountain in this temple. The reason was… Because I missed everyone in here." Yuuri replied and snapped his head up after the last sentence. He expected a sign of emotion, a feeling to appear on Conrart's face, but he received nothing. The older male sighed and approached the young double-black.

"I'll be taking you to meet the real Maou now." He said and the next thing that Yuuri knew was a sharp pain in his gut and a welcoming darkness that followed.

Conrart hoisted up the smaller body on his back and knocked on the door. A second later they opened and the shrine maidens let him out. Outside stood Ulrike, who gave Conrart a worried stare once she saw the unconscious young boy. He smiled faintly.

"I do not think the kid is dangerous, though he appears to be psychologically unstable. He claimed to have come from another world. I will be taking him to the castle for further interrogation." Conrart said and Ulrike nodded. A shrine maiden led him to the doors and Conrart began walking towards the two horses and a person standing further away. An orange-haired male waved at him from the short distance and looked at his shoulder with obvious interest.

"Yo, Commander. Did the kid put some kind of resistance?" The man inquired and Conrart shook his head.

"No, Yozak. But I figured we should not risk it." He replied and placed the unconscious boy on Yozak's horse, before mounting his own. The male shrugged his shoulders and approached his horse. Before he could get on top as well, however, a small detail caught his eyes; after all, he was the best spy in the country, so noticing the little details was his job.

"Hey, Commander. I think you should see this." He said in an obviously amused voice as he got on his horse and put the boy in his lap. Conrart didn't seem too interested in whatever Yozak wanted to show, but he approached anyways. Once he did, Yozak pulled at Yuuri's top shirt a little and revealed as small blue drop-shaped pendant. Conrart couldn't contain his gasp. He quickly grabbed at his own neck only to find the exact same thing hanging there. This pendant on the boy's neck couldn't have been the same thing. There was only one of those, after all. Still, the thing looked genuine. Conrart reached for the pendant and touched it. It certainly felt genuine as well. He noticed a small difference, however. Inside the kid's pendant, there was an ornament of a cream-colored snake. Conrart looked at Yuuri's unconscious form in question. The boy would not be able to answer him until he woke up.

…_you, sir Conrad Weller, are my Godfather… Even if you do not remember being it._

The words of that boy rang in his head. He shook it to clear the thoughts and looked back at Yozak with a stern look.

"Let's go back. We have to bring him to the castle before he awakens." Conrart said and started riding towards the castle. Yozak smirked and followed.

_TBC?_


End file.
